The Days Keep Coming & the Years Overlap
by Halawen
Summary: A short sequel to I Was at This Party taking place just after the Christmas chapter. Clare is pregnant and she and Owen begin preparing for the birth of their child but get a whopping surprise. Support from friends and vists from loved ones will help them get through. Feat. Adam, Maya, Drew, Bianca and Tris.
1. Shocking Surprise!

**Welcome to the** _ **I Was at This Party**_ **sequel! This will be two or three chapters I'm not entirely sure yet.**

 **Legal: I own nothing but the idea**

 **Important things to know:**

 ***You really should read** _ **I Was at This Party**_ **and the Christmas chapter before you read this. It's not necessary but it's very helpful.**

 ***This begins about two weeks after the Christmas chapter. In case you missed you it the chapter is called "Best Christmas Ever" and it's in with the other Christmas shorts grouped together in** _ **Merry DeGrassi Fan Fiction Christmas!**_

 ***Chris & Marissa are Owen & Clare's ravine friends from **_**I Was at This Party**_

 **Ch. 1 Shocking Surprise!**

 **(CLARE)**

"I called for an appointment and it's set up for the 30th at four so make sure you have no clients that day," I tell Owen as we sit down at the table to eat breakfast. Owen nods and pulls out his phone.

"No clients that day and I've already blocked it off so there will be no clients that day," Owen tells me and I smile.

"I have a meeting with Penn Weekly News this afternoon and I'll tell them I'm pregnant since that will probably affect me getting the job," I inform my husband. I'd told the paper that I was pregnant but it wouldn't affect my job too much since I do most of my work from a desk or sitting down to interview people anyway. However Penn Weekly News is a weekly news show and it could affect my job for that although it depends on if they want me to be an anchor or a field reporter.

"Good luck, I hope it doesn't affect you getting that job because I know how important it is to you," Owen says and I smile. I stop eating about halfway through and get up rushing to the washroom and losing my breakfast in the toilet. "You alright Sweetness?" Owen asks kneeling down and pulling my hair back.

"Yeah morning sickness," I reply leaning against the wall and Owen sits down putting his arm around me. He sits with me a moment and then gets up to get me some water and I drink it all.

"You going to be okay at work?" Owen questions kissing my temple.

"Yeah I'm feeling better now, I'll just be careful what I eat and morning sickness shouldn't last into the second trimester," I say using him to stand up.

"Considering you're maybe three weeks pregnant that's not entirely comforting," he replies.

"I'll be fine, if I begin to feel too nauseas I'll come home and work here," I assure my husband and he smiles.

"I'll clean up my first client isn't until ten," Owen says.

"Thanks Hubby I'll see you tonight," I grin kissing him tenderly.

I grab my briefcase and head to work. I spend most of the day researching a story I was working on before we left for Christmas in Toronto. I leave at four to go to my meeting with Penn Weekly News.

"Good to see you again Clare did you enjoy the holidays?"

"I did they were wonderful and I found out that I'm pregnant," I tell them.

"Congratulations that's wonderful news."

"Thank you we're both very happy but I realize it could affect my job here if you decide to hire me," I tell them.

"It does put us in a position to reconsider but we do want you as part of the family here. We wanted to start you out as a researcher, moving to a field reporter position and eventually an anchor position."

"That would be amazing," I grin.

"We'll put together an offer letter and send it to your office; we realize you'll still be working for the paper so we'll start you out part time."

"Any opportunity to work here would be incredible and part time would definitely be best for now. I look forward to hearing from you and potentially working here," I say shaking their hands before leaving.

"Hey Hot Legs how was your meeting?" Owen asks when I come in the house.

"It went great and I told them I was pregnant and they said it was something to consider but they still want me to work there."

"Hey that's great I'm proud of you Sweetness," Owen grins kissing me gently. "Guess who called?"

"Who?"

"Chris, he and Marissa are in town and they want us to come to dinner."

"It would be fantastic to see them we haven't seen them in nearly six years, not since their wedding."

"Are you up for it tonight? I told Chris I'd call him back as soon as you were home."

"Yes I'd love to see them and I feel great, I didn't have any other problems today. Call them back and I'll just go freshen up a little," I reply kissing him quickly before going up to the bedroom.

I change from work clothes to something a little nicer for going out. When I get back downstairs Owen tells me we're meeting at one of our favorite restaurants and we leave the house. We arrive first and get a booth for the four of us, while Owen and I are talking about what we'll get Chris and Marissa come in. I practically squeal when I see them and I get up to hug them, embracing Marissa first and then Chris. They sit down and we let them look at the menu and place our orders before we begin catching up.

"It is so good to see you guys. It has been way too long since we've seen you," I comment after the waiter leaves.

"I know it's been forever, our jobs keep us busy but you'll be seeing a lot more of us, Chris got a job her in Philly and we're moving. We're here to look at apartments and houses," Marissa says.

"Awesome we would love having you guys here. All our old friends are spread out all over the world. We made friends here of course but it would be great to have friends we've had for ten years living close by," Owen grins.

"Yes especially because I just found out I was pregnant," I tell them and they smile.

"Congratulations that's wonderful news. Oh I love babies but we cannot do kids right now we are way too busy. Chris' job has pretty crazy hours and I still have a year of nursing school. Possibly more, I had to transfer schools and could lose credits as well as starting a new residency. But this opportunity for Chris was just too good for us to turn down," Marissa says.

"We'll we're definitely glad you're here," I grin.

For the rest of dinner Chris tells us about his new job, Owen and I talk about work and Marissa talks about school. We talk about our holidays and family and remain at the restaurant for over two hours. We hug them before leaving and offer to help them find a place to live; before we go we make plans to get together again soon.

"It was so wonderful to see them, they've hardly changed and I'm so excited they're moving here. We've made a few friends but not like them and we've never had anyone to the house," I remark when Owen and I get home.

"Yeah I'm looking forward to having them here and having couples nights. You and Marissa can have girls nights and Chris and I can have guys nights. I'd been hoping for a while we could get Drew and Bianca or Adam and Maya to move here but Chris and Marissa is great."

"I'm going to take a bath before bed," I tell Owen giving him a loving kiss before I go upstairs.

"I love you Hot Legs," Owen calls after me and I giggle.

"I love you too Hubby Boyfriend."

 **(OWEN)**

"OWEN!"

I'm awoken from sleep by my wife's urgent scream from the washroom. I jump out of bed and run to our washroom, I find her on the toilet but she's crying.

"I think we need to go to the hospital I'm bleeding," Clare says with panic in her voice and tears threatening to burst from her beautiful cerulean eyes. I look at her panties and see some blood there's some in the toilet as well. Seeing the dark crimson blood sends a panic in my heart but I remain calm for Clare's sake.

"Okay we're right now, let's get some clothes on. I'll grab you some sweats," I tell her going back to our bedroom and turning on the lights.

We'd been home just over two weeks and Clare's first prenatal appointment was next week. She's had some pretty bad morning sickness; even working from home a couple of days but Bianca had pretty bad morning sickness as well. Of course she's only seven weeks pregnant and every woman we've ever known has told us the last trimester is the hardest.

Clare comes out of the washroom and puts on the sweats, snow boots and her coat. I get dressed quickly and we go out to the car. It snowed again but we make it to the hospital and I tell them she's pregnant and bleeding so they send us up to maternity. A nurse comes in to get Clare's vitals and then gives her a hospital gown to change into telling her to have it open if front. When the nurse leaves the room I help Clare get undressed since she's supposed to be completely naked under the hospital gown. She gets the gown on while I'm folding her clothes and then she gets on the table squeezing my hand.

"Owen what if something is wrong?" She questions with so much fear in her town it breaks my heart.

"Then we'll get through it together like we always do," I assure her and then there's a knock at the door.

"Hi I'm Doctor Catherine Hale," she says shaking both our hands. "If you'll lie back on the table Clare I'm going to do an internal exam," the doctor instructs and Clare lies back. "So you're seven weeks pregnant?"

"I think so but I haven't been to my first appointment yet it's not until next week. We've been trying to get pregnant for a while," Clare tells the doctor.

"Okay well I don't see any vaginal trauma or tearing and you're no longer bleeding but I'm going to open your gown and do an ultrasound," Dr. Hale tells her and turns on a machine. "Have you had any morning sickness?" She asks while putting gel on Clare's belly.

"Yeah it's been pretty bad," Clare answers and I nod in agreement.

"How about weight gain?" The doctor asks.

"She's only seven weeks," I remind the doctor thinking she couldn't already be gaining weight.

"Yes almost four pounds," Clare replies and my mouth drops open.

The doctor puts the wand on the gel and a picture comes on screen. It looks like shapes and shadows to me but the doctor's face changes s she obviously sees something.

"Spotting and minor bleeding is not uncommon with pregnancies and your severe morning sickness and weight gain even at this early stage are because you are having multiples."

"Twins?!" We both exclaim in shock.

"Triplets actually," the doctor says.

"Triplets? How? Twins don't even run in our families," I comment.

"I was taking fertility drugs," Clare admits and my stomach ties in knots as my heart stops beating for a moment. She never said anything about taking fertility drugs; we'd talked about it and decided against them. I'm going to fight about this with her later but this is not the time.

"Fertility drugs definitely raise your chances of having multiples. You do seem to be at seven weeks but they'll confirm that at your appointment. Triplets are a high risk pregnancy and it's likely you'll go into preterm labor. Your regular OB/GYN will monitor you closely and will probably recommend a scheduled delivery either vaginal or by C-section. Preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, placental abruption, anemia, polyhydramnios are all potential complications with multiples. All things your regular doctor will discuss with you. Your placenta looks good, all three babies look good, I don't see any tearing or ruptures and the bleeding has stopped so it was just a little spotting. I'm going to discharge you but if you start bleeding again or any pain then come back in right away. Do you have any questions?"

"I probably have a million but I can't think of them just now," I reply.

"When you of one write it down and discuss it with your doctor when you go in."

"Thanks Doc," I nod and she leaves the room. "I'll go get you discharged while you get dressed again," I tell Clare.

I leave her room and get her discharged, when I get back to the room she's dressed and we leave the hospital. Our drive home is very silent and tense, a fight is waiting to happen and when we get inside the house the moment explodes.

"HOW IN THE HELL COULD YOU KEEP ANYTHING FROM ME LET ALONE SOMETHING LIKE THAT CLARE?! WE DISCUSSED THIS AND DECIDED AGAINST IT YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR BODY AT RISK!"

"I know I'm sorry but we'd been trying for so long and talking about in vitro which is expensive a…"

"I don't care about the money Clare, money isn't a issue it's never been an issue with us. We both have good jobs and make decent money, besides which I have a trust and we have my parents. I don't care how much money it takes I care about keeping you safe. If you were thinking about taking fertility drugs you should have talked to me."

"I know I'm sorry but I was getting frustrated and scared, we weren't getting pregnant and I wanted it so bad so I made an appointment. I started taking them in late November. I know I should have talked to you and I'm sorry but I knew you'd try and stop me."

"Yes because after we heard the risks we decided that it was too dangerous for you. I thought we had both decided."

"Well it's less risky than in vitro which could leave me infertile. And I know we talked about adoption but I wanted to pregnant and I wanted the baby to be ours. I talked with the doctor the drugs they gave me have the lowest risk of side effects and complications. The drug worked, I'm pregnant we're having triplets can't you just be happy about that?"

"I am happy about that Clare, I'm ecstatic about that. I'm going to be a dad to triplets. Three kids all at once and you never have to be pregnant again. I'm thrilled that you're pregnant and having triplets that's amazing but I wish you'd told me you were going to the doctor and talked to me before going to the doctor. We never keep anything from each other and this was a huge thing to keep from me."

"I know I'm sorry, I know I should have told you and I'll never keep anything from you again."

"That's right you won't," I reply taking my wife into my arms and kissing her softly. "So triplets? We're going to need a lot of stuff."

"Owen we need a bigger house, this is a two bedroom house a two bedroom house can't sustain five people with three little ones. We have to move, we have to start looking at houses," Clare exclaims.

"Slow down we don't need a big house right away the babies aren't even here yet and we're not going through the stress of packing and moving until after the babies are born. The doctor said triplets is high risk and so we're going to keep you as stress free as possible. Our house will be fine for a while, for the first few months they'll be sleeping in our room anyway right? So we'll set up the extra room as the nursery, the changing table and cribs and toys and all that stuff. When the kids start crawling we'll baby proof, gates at the stairs and stuff like that. I'd say this house is good for at least another year so don't stress about moving right now," I assure my wife.

"We're still going to need a lot of stuff," she comments.

"Stuff we're not going to worry about right now. You're going to have to be up in a couple of hours do you want take a nice long shower with me and then go to breakfast?"

"That sounds nice. I know we're excited and scared about having triplets but can we keep it between us until after the appointment? I just don't want to tell anyone yet until it's been confirmed by our own doctor."

"As always anything you want Sweetness," I grin and give her a loving kiss.

 **(CLARE)**

"Hi I'm Dr. Denise Buxton and you must be Clare and Owen," the female doctor says. She has a friendly smile, soft brown eyes that almost perfectly matches her hair which is cropped short and frames her round face. She's about two inches taller than Clare and slightly chubby.

"It's nice to meet you," I smile as she shakes both our hands.

"I see that you had some spotting last week and went to the hospital. They said everything was okay but found out you were having triplets."

"Yeah that's what the emergency room doctor said," Owen nods.

"Alright well why don't you lie back and we'll get a 4D scan and see what's going on in there," Dr. Buxton says and I lie back. She turns on the machine and puts the wand on my belly. An image begins to appear on screen, three amniotic sacs with three little tiny people inside. Actually at the moment they look more like jelly beans with legs but there are three of them. Dr. Buxton prints a few pictures for us and then I put my feet in the stirrups so she can do an internal. After that she discusses with us the risks of carrying multiples, precautions to take and that we'll probably induce labor or deliver all three by C-section. I then give a urine sample and a blood sample and find out that my due date is September 5th although the doctor is certain I'll be delivering in mid to late August given my size. We make an appointment for three weeks from now and then we go home.

"I think you should work from home today, I don't have any clients today so I can be home with you," Owen tells me when we get home.

"I need to go into work I have things to finish and I'm only eight weeks. She said to take it easy but all I'll be doing at work is sitting behind a desk. Besides I have to the paper and PNW that we're having triplets and I may be restricted or even on bed rest any time after the last half of the pregnancy. When we're both home tonight we can start calling your family and our friends to tell them we're having triplets."

"Sounds good I love you Hot Legs," Owen grins.

"I love you too Hubby Boyfriend," I smile and he gives me a scowl before kissing me. "You can start clearing out the spare room to get it ready for lots of baby things. And maybe begin making a list of all the things we'll need in the next few months, before the babies and after. It would be good to get it organized, although some of it we'll get at a baby shower I imagine. Oh and call Chris and Marissa see about getting together for dinner with them," I tell Owen as I grab my briefcase and get ready to leave.

"Anything you wish Sweetness," Owen replies and I grin.

"I love you more than anything," I smile and kiss him gently before leaving. I get in my car and drive to work at the paper. Before I get to work I go into my editor's office.

"Good morning Clare how was your appointment?"

"It was good thanks but I found out I'm having triplets."

"Wow triplets congratulations," Jeff says.

"Thanks we're excited, and also petrified."

"Yes I can imagine that's how my wife and I felt with our first child and we were only having one."

"The doctor said multiples was considered a high risk pregnancy and there's a chance I might be on bed rest or some point. I'm also going to have some restrictions as the pregnancy progresses," I inform my boss.

"Yeah that would make sense especially carrying triplets I would thing that was quite high risk. Just keep us informed and let us know what your needs are, if you need extra time off we can arrange for a medical leave of absence."

"Thanks," I smile.

"Congratulations again," Jeff says and I thank him before leaving his office.

I sit at my desk and get to work, I tell a few more people that I'm having triplets and everyone is happy for me. They tell me congratulations or that it's triple trouble or something like that. I leave at four to go to the TV station, I just need to finish research for a segment and put the copy together. I tell my bosses here that I'm pregnant with triplets and will have restrictions but since my job with them right now is all research and copy and they have no problem if I do it all at home. When I finish up I head home and it's a little after six.

"Hey Sweetness how was work?" Owen asks after greeting me with a kiss.

"It was good, Jeff said I could take a medical leave of absence if necessary and to just let them know what I need. The station said I could do my job from home so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Good, I called Chris and they'll meet us for dinner but we're meeting at seven so we should get going pretty soon."

"I'm just going to change and I'll be ready," I tell him.

I go up to our room and change out of work clothes to a pair of jeans and a sweater. When we get to the restaurant Chris and Marissa are already here. We hug them at sit down at the table, ordering as soon as the waiter comes to our table.

"So Owen said you had big news?"

"Yeah big as in multiples were' having triplets," I tell them.

"Oh my gosh that's amazing! Congratulations!" Marissa grins and leans across the table to hug me again.

"Wow three that's going to be a handful," Chris comments.

"Yeah they outnumber us it's going to be an adventure but hopefully they'll also keep each other entertained," Owen says.

"So who else have you told?" Marissa asks.

"I told the paper and the station but I've been at work all day."

"I called my parents and my brother they were all extremely excited. Mom's already talking about shopping for them. Tris too, between the two of them they'll have your baby shower all worked out. Dad was super happy about all the grandkids and Janice was excited. I haven't called Adam yet I figured Clare would want to do that."

"Yes I do, I'll call Adam as soon as we're home," I reply.

We spend the rest of dinner talking about having triplets and getting ready for them. We say goodnight and promise to get together again soon before Owen and I drive home. As soon as we're home I get out my phone and call Adam.

"Hey Hot Legs," Adam answers.

"Hi Bashful is Maya around I have news for you guys."

"She's right here and I just put you on speaker," Adam tells me.

"Hi Clare," Maya says so I know she's there.

"So we're having three baby Milligans, I'm pregnant with triplets."

"Holy crap triplets!" Maya exclaims.

"Wow, I mean congratulations but wow," Adam says.

"Owen told his parents and Tris but we haven't called your parents or Drew and Bianca, given how late it is there though I think we'll wait until morning."

"Yeah good idea. This is great news though congrats again I can't believe you're having triplets."

"Neither can we."

 **So the update is tomorrow and will begin with Adam and Maya arriving for a visit as we get a little farther into Clare's pregnancy.**


	2. Three Times the Love

**Welcome to chapter two isn't it nice not to have to wait? Before we get to the chapter a couple announcements:**

 **1)Two polls have been added to my page on the DeGrassi Saviors website.**

 ***The first poll is for what Christmas shots you'd like to see from stories that are already finished and you'd like one more chapter for.**

 ***The second poll is for a random Christmas shot and you decide who you want me to pair Clare with.**

 **2) So I've already had a few requests for 2** **nd** **/continuing chapters for some of the shots already posted. And I'm sure there will be more so at the end of one shot month I'll put up another poll to see who wants more of which stories. The top 3 or 4 will go on my plotting list for more chapters.**

 **Ch. 2 Three Times the Love**

 **(CLARE)**

I sit up breathing heavy, my heart pounding. Looking at the clock on the microwave I see that it's just after two in the afternoon. I must have fallen asleep on the sofa and I had a nightmare. Owen is with a client and I'm working from home for the day. I don't want to disturb Owen but I want to talk to someone and out of habit I call my best friend.

"Hey Clare," Adam answers.

"Adam I don't know what I'm doing. We're having triplets; we're not even prepared for one. I'm only six months; I might have to go on bed rest what happens if I have to go on bed rest? There's still so much to do and buy and think about. What happens if we lose one or they're all still born? Owen and I couldn't take that. They could be born early in fact it's very likely that they will be born early. They'll need to be in the hospital a…"

"Clare take a breath you're going to start hyperventilating. There's a lot to do but there's still time and you're not alone. You're not supposed to be stressing out it's bad for all four of you and Owen too I'm sure. What happened at your appointment this morning?" Adam asks.

"The kids are developing well, the boy is the biggest. I'm supposed to stay off my feet as much as I can. I can still work though I have to do as much as I can from home. Dr. Buxton has recommended delivering by scheduled C-section on August 19th and we agreed. Do you know I've gained twenty three pounds? The doctor says that's good though."

"Sounds like the pregnancy is going pretty well then considering how many lives your building. Just relax and breathe," Adam says.

"I'm trying, I wish you were here you and Owen can always calm me down. I had better get back to work, thanks Adam I'll call you later."

"Bye Clare," Adam says and we hang up.

I reach for my laptop again and then the kids start moving. At my third appointment we found out that we're having a boy and two girls. We're still deciding on names though, everyone has offered their opinions on names. I was having prenatals every three weeks at first but now it's every two and soon it could be every week. I haven't been put on bed rest yet but the doctor recommended I work from home as much as I could so I've been doing so about two or three days a week.

I rub my belly to soothe the kids and get back to work. I'm only working a few moments before Owen gets home.

"Thank goodness I need to pee help me up please?"

"Of course Sweetness," he smiles coming over he takes my laptop and helping me up. "Have you eaten?"

"Not for a while, I'm not too hungry though, maybe some fruit."

Owen smiles and I waddle my way to the downstairs washroom. When I come out Owen has a plate of fruit for me. We spend the afternoon together and he rubs my feet while I finish work. It's rather difficult for me to get up and down the stairs in our townhome now so Owen bought a bed for down here. It's set up where the dining table used to be since we eat on the sofa now. Owen moved the dining table into the garage until after the babies are born. I work a little after dinner and when I'm tired we go to bed downstairs since Owen always sleeps with me down here. I manage to sleep through the night, a rarity at this point as I'm always waking up to pee or change position. Owen has an early client so he kisses me before he leaves and I make him help me up so I can use the washroom. I eat breakfast before working, I'm very happy the severe morning sickness passed after the first couple of months so I could eat. After I eat I grab my laptop and sit down to work but soon after the doorbell rings. I would have to get up and see who was at the door but of course right after we moved Owen had state of the art security installed. So I press a button on my laptop and see who's there, surprised but very happy when I see that it's Adam and Maya. I press a button to unlock the door and set my laptop down just as they come in pulling suitcases behind them.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask while hugging them.

"I heard how stressed you were on the phone and we know how much there is to do so we took some vacation time to come out and help. We're staying for a week because we wanted to come out for a few days after the triplets are born too," Adam tells me.

"You guys didn't have to come all the way out but I am so happy and grateful that you did," I smile as Adam sits on the sofa at my feet and Maya sits on his lap.

"We thought we'd have your baby shower while we were here so we'll have it next weekend. You make me a list of all the people you want here and I'll take care of the rest," Maya says.

"I already talked to Mom and they'll fly out Friday evening along with Drew, Bianca and Shon," Adam tells me.

"I'm sorry I can't get over the size of your belly, how do you do…anything?" Maya questions.

"I kind of don't, I work from home a lot. Owen has to help me do most things, even getting up is about a ten minute process. I feel like a whale and everything hurts but Owen takes good care of me."

"Well at least you're not on bed rest yet," Adam comments.

"And I hope I don't go on bedrest. Well Owen and I sleep down here now since I can't make it up the stairs so you're welcome to sleep in our room."

Adam takes their suitcases up to the bedroom and Maya uses the washroom. I send Owen a text so he knows they're here. While Adam and Owen make dinner I make a list of everyone I want at my baby shower. I write down phone numbers and e-mails for everyone so Maya knows how to get a hold of them, well at least everyone that she doesn't already have contact information for. There's a lot of people from work but I'm not sure that everyone from out of town can make it on such short notice. Maya calls Tristan first and he says he and Ricky will be there and she calls Owen's parents and Wendy says she Eric and Janice will all fly out and she's going to call Audra and see if they can get the same flight.

Adam and Maya stay all week and it's great to have them here and have someone home with me. I get to spend a lot of time with them and catch up and we talk a lot about their wedding a year from now. Maya, Marissa and I even have some girl time with afternoon tea. Saturday is my baby shower and the house quickly fills up. All the guys are going out for the party, except for Tris and Ricky who will be at the baby shower, but the guys will be back tonight to BBQ. The only person I wanted to be here that can't be is Darcy but she's on a tiny island in Indonesia and I knew she probably wouldn't be able to make it on such short notice. Everyone else did make it though and the house is packed with female energy, and Tris and Ricky but they're pretty much like girlfriends.

"Oh the kids are moving; they're kicking or doing acrobatics," I exclaim as Wendy hands me some food.

"Ooh I want to feel I told Adam I want a big family," Maya says as she puts her hand on my belly. "Oh I can't wait to see them, I want six at least," Maya grins.

"I'm not even sure how we're going to handle three, with only two of us," I comment.

"Have you started looking for a nanny?" Wendy asks.

"Yeah we're going through a service that does all the screening and Owen is home between clients, plus I can work from home but we're probably going to need two nannies once I go back to work."

"Two is probably a good idea so they can take shifts but Chris and will help out too," Marissa says.

"And Adam and I will be back after the babies are born," Maya reminds me.

"I'll be back too, with Eric if I can drag him away from work for a while," Wendy tells me.

"Thanks I know we'll need lots of help," I grin.

"I can't wait until my nieces and nephew are born, we're going to buy them the coolest baby clothes," Tris grins.

We eat and then do presents before cake. I'm pretty sure we got everything we registered for including all the baby furniture we wanted. We of course get lots of clothes and a year of diaper service, plus diapers, bottles and gift cards. Wendy, Audra and Marissa clean up just as all the guys come back. Owen kisses me hello and then he and Eric go out back to start the BBQ. The guys talk about their day out and look at all the gifts.

"Okay if I'm going to get up and go outside I better start now," I comment as everyone begins either moving outside to talk or talking things outside to set up.

"Hang on we'll help," Chris says coming over as does Drew and the two of them help me up.

They grab my hands and come over helping me up. Chris offers me his arm and we walk outside. I sit in the chaise lounge and talk with people until Owen brings me some food. The BBQ goes pretty late because everyone that has to fly home is leaving tomorrow early afternoon so we'll just have time for breakfast together.

 **(OWEN)**

"Thank goodness I thought this day would never come," Clare says as we get in the car.

It's August 19th and we're going to the hospital to have our triplets by scheduled C-section. After Clare was diagnosed with preeclampsia she was put on bed rest and has been on bed rest, and slowly going nuts from boredom, for the last six weeks. Adam and Maya arrived yesterday and Tris and Ricky have been here for two days. Maya and Tris are coming to the hospital with us while Ricky and Adam do some stuff at the house and keep everyone else up to date.

"I can't wait to meet our beautiful kids," I grin.

"I'm so excited for nieces and nephews," Tris says from the back seat.

I drive us to the hospital and pull up to the front; Tris and I help Clare out of the car and take her in while Maya parks the car. They're expecting Clare so I just have to sign a couple papers to admit her. Maya joins us and we all go upstairs together. They begin prepping Clare for surgery so Maya and Tris go out to the waiting room to call Adam and let him know what's going on so he and Ricky can spread the word. Clare changes into her hospital gown and gets on the bed. Clare's given anesthesia so she won't feel anything but she'll be awake. Then she's given something to drink that she doesn't like the flavor of but the nurse tells us it will neutralize her stomach acids. Then she's hooked to an IV and given a catheter. Clare gets wheeled to the operating room and I am taken by a nurse to put on scrubs and sterilize, put gloves on and a mask. When I get into the operating room Clare is lying on the operating table, her legs are bent up and spread apart in stirrups and there's a curtain blocking her top half from her bottom half so that we won't see anything.

"Alright Clare you might feel a slight pinch but nothing more than that. Now just as we've discussed I'm going make and incision and then you might feel some painless prodding. That will be me getting the baby into position; I have to reach my hand underneath the baby's head to form a cradle so I can pull the head out. With three babies it will take a little bit of time. The time to get each baby out will vary but if there no complications it should only take a few moments for each one. When they're all out I'll stitch you back up and this usually takes the longest. Because multiples always have a low birth weight we'll need to take the babies as soon as the cords have been cut so they can be examined and weighed and if necessary taken to the NICU. Alright now we're going to get started," Dr. Buxton tells us.

I stand at Clare's head and hold her hand; I can't see anything past the curtain either. I watch Clare's face but she's mostly listening to what's going on past the curtain. I see her occasionally make a face, I'm assuming when she feels the doctor doing things. And then suddenly we hear crying, strained and tiny crying but it's life and it's beautiful. I look at Clare and we both smile, before we can see the baby it's taken to be cleaned and checked out. It's several minutes before we hear the next cry and nearly half an hour before we hear a third but all the babies make it out.

"Alright Dad I'm going to start sewing Clare up," Dr. Buxton says.

"What about our babies?" I question trying to see them.

"They're being taken to the NICU, they're alright but they're low birth weight," a nurse says.

"Remember we discussed that the babies would be low birth weight and would have to spend some time in the NICU," Dr. Buxton says.

"The boy is 3.2 pounds, one girl is 3 pounds and the other is just under. Nearly all multiples have to be in the NICU for a time. They're strong kids though, their hearts are good. Breathing is a little strained but that's normal for their weight. You'll be able to see them after Clare is sewn up and the babies are settled in the NICU."

Sewing Clare up takes almost forty five minutes and then she's taken to a recovery room. When she's settled in and hooked up to the monitors and IV Maya and Tris come in the room. I tell them everything the nurse said about the babies as Maya and Tris kiss Clare's forehead and see how she's doing.

"I'll go call Adam and come right back in do you need anything?" Maya asks. I shake my head and sit with my wife, taking her hand and kissing it softly.

"Owen go see our kids, be with them if you can please. They won't let me see them for at least a couple of hours and one of us should be with them," Clare says.

"Are you sure? I can stay with you," I tell her.

"No Tris will be with me and so will Maya. Go be with our kids they need they're father," she insists.

"Okay I'll go see them, stay with her Tris," I instruct my younger brother.

"Of course I will," Tris nods as Maya comes back in.

"Stay with her I'm going to see the babies," I tell Maya and she says she will.

I'm still in my scrubs but they make me change into fresh ones before I enter the NICU. I see my children in their bassinets hooked to respirators. The bassinets are labeled **Baby Milligan 1, Baby Milligan 2 & Baby Milligan 3**.

"They have names."

"I'm sorry Sir?" A nurse asks.

"The babies, they have names."

"I can change the display, what are their names?"

"The boy is named Dylan," I tell her and the nurse types in Dylan Milligan to the display. "And the girls are…you know we never discussed which name would be for which girl. We didn't know what they looked like," I say to the nurse looking at my daughters. One has dark black hair like mine and her brother and the other has honey brown hair like her mom. "I guess I should wait for Clare to decide which one gets which name."

"If she had a C-section she'll be under observation for a few hours before they let her in."

"Yeah she wanted me to be with Dylan and the girls."

"You can touch them. They're doing quite well, they'll need the respirators to help them breath until they're strong enough to breathe on their own and they've gained some weight. They're healthy though and it's good for you to touch them and bond with them. Be careful of the wires and tubes but you can hold their hand, touch their feet and legs."

I smile and sit down at Dylan's bassinet. I feel his tiny hand; rub his little feet and legs. I spend a few minutes with Dylan then move to his sister with dark hair and my baby girl with lighter hair. The girl with hair the color of Clare's is also the smallest one. I stay with the babies for an hour before I go back to see Clare and check on her.

"How is she?" I whisper to Tris. Adam and Ricky are here now too.

"She's tired," Tris replies.

"I thought I told you to go be with the kids," Clare says.

"I was and they're beautiful but I came to check on you," I tell her kissing her forehead.

"Dr. Buxton said I might be able to go see them in an hour," Clare comments sleepily.

"Then I'll stay here until we can be with the kids together. You should sleep I'm right here," I assure her.

She smiles and after a moment she falls asleep. Dr. Buxton comes in after about an hour and checks on Clare, when she opens the door Clare opens her eyes.

"Okay Clare everything looks good, how are you feeling?"

"I want to see my kids," she replies.

"I think it's okay for you to go see them now but not for too long you need rest and so do they. An hour, maybe two I'll come check on you. I'll send an orderly in to get you ready to go into the NICU. Owen you'll need a new pair of scrubs, why don't you go do that while Clare gets ready."

"Okay I'll see you in there Sweetness," I tell Clare and kiss her.

"We'll call everyone and give them an update," Adam says.

I change into fresh scrubs and go back into the NICU and sit with our kids, I sit between the girls rubbing their feet. Clare is wheeled in a few minutes later and put in front of Dylan's bassinet.

"I didn't want to decide which girl should get which name without you," I tell Clare when she sees Dylan's bassinet displaying his name but not the girls.

"We chose the names together what does your instinct tell you?" Clare asks looking at our daughters.

"I think this one," I say looking at our smallest daughter with hair like Clare's, "is Fallynn and this one is Rhiannon," I tell her touching our dark haired daughter.

"I agree," Clare grins looking at all three of our gorgeous babies. "Hello my beautiful children Dylan, Fallynn and Rhiannon Milligan," Clare grins proudly. "I love you Owen, I love our perfect little family."

"I love you sweetness and our beautiful family."

 **The update tomorrow is also the last chapter and will include Maya and Adam's wedding and the triplets first birthday, along with the Milligan brood moving to a new house and perhaps a surprise or two.**


	3. Days of Old

**Last chapter everyone I hope you enjoy it and hope, you've enjoyed this little sequel to a story that was dear to my heart because it was my first foray into Clowen. It's a little short but there's a surprise or two and lots going on bringing the story full circle.**

 **Ch. 3 Days of Old**

 **(CLARE)**

"Owen can you get Rhiannon changed? We're going to have to change after we have the kids changed. I think we better get help," I comment as I try to wrangle Fallynn on the changing table.

"I'm on it," Owen says picking up Rhiannon. He'd already changed Dylan and got him into his clothes. Owen gets his phone out sending a text to someone and a moment later there's a knock on the door.

"Backup is here," Bianca announces walking in with Drew and Shon.

"Babies! I wan see Babies," Shon says running to the playpen to see Dylan.

"We'll take them down, I'm sure we'll have no trouble finding people to watch them," Drew tells us.

"I wan pway with them," Shon says trying to climb into the playpen.

"We're going to take them down to Uncle Adam's wedding so Auntie Clare and Uncle Owen can get ready," Bianca tells him.

"Okay Fallynn is ready," I comment handing her to Drew.

"I'll get Rhiannon ready and bring her down, you should get changed Sweetness," Owen remarks.

"Yeah I should, we'll see you guys downstairs."

Today Maya and Adam are getting married, the triplets are a little over 9 months old and Shon is two years and six months old. Dylan, Fallynn and Rhiannon are all healthy now but it was a bit of a struggle for the first few months. They all had breathing problems and Fallynn has asthma. All three of them are still pretty small which is common for triplets, most people think they're only six months old instead of nine but all of them were only three pounds when they were born. So far they've been hitting they're developmental milestones within the time they should be which is good.

Adam and Maya have a fairly small wedding party, Tris is Maya's Man of Honor and I'm her Bridesmaid. Drew is Adam's Best Man, Owen is his Groomsman. Adam and Maya are getting married in on the beach so everyone is staying at the same hotel which is right on the beach where they're getting married. We're changing in our rooms because there's no tents for changing on the beach just a canopy where the ceremony will take place.

My bridesmaids dress is robin's egg blue, thin shoulder straps, long and flowy it's slightly shorter in front and has a V-Neckline. There's a pathway from the hotel to the beach so I don't need shoes but I have my wedding ring and necklace. When I come out Owen is in his suit which consists of black jeans with the cuffs rolled up a little, a white dress shirt and a blue vest that matches my dress.

"You look incredible Hot Legs, careful you might take attention away from the bride," Owen smiles when he sees me.

"I somehow doubt that but I love you for thinking that," I grin kissing him gently.

"Well my attention will all be on you," Owen smiles.

"Where's Rhiannon?" I question because Owen was supposed to be getting her changed and take her down.

"Ricky came and got her," Owen tells me holding out his arm and I link my arm with him.

We leave the hotel room and walk down to the beach, Drew and Tris are standing at the end of the walkway for the bridal party and all the guests are seated. Maya and Adam come out a few minutes later and music begins playing. Owen and I walk down first, followed by Drew and Tris and finally Adam and Maya. They take their place and the officiator begins, for the whole ceremony all I can think about is my own wedding day. It's been nearly twelve years since Owen and I were married, twelve wonderful years since Owen and I were married even if it was a bit of a shotgun wedding.

The ceremony is beautiful, Adam and Maya look extremely happy and in love which is the most important thing. Shon and the triplets start to get restless before the ceremony is over but Wendy and Eric take them behind all the seats and play with them in the sand. Adam and Maya kiss at the end and everyone cheers then we walk back to the hotel, the reception is at the hotel in a ballroom with a huge outdoor balcony for dining and dancing. Some people go up to their rooms to change, I send Owen up to our room to get us shoes. He also grabs the diaper bags so we can change the triplets. We get them changed and sit down eat, Eric takes Dylan to feed him and Owen feeds Fallynn while I feed Rhiannon. We have baby food and crackers for them to eat and the catering staff brings us plates of cut banana for them. After the kids eat Audra and Wendy take them so Owen and I can eat and then we dance. After a couple of dances with Owen I dance with Adam while he dances with Bianca.

"You look great you know, I can't believe you gave birth to triplets just nine months ago," Adam smiles.

"My husband is a personal trainer of course I'm in shape again," I laugh. "You know Maya wants six kids," I comment watching Maya and Owen dancing with Fallynn in her daddy's arms.

"I know we're already talking about it," Adam smiles.

The reception goes for hours, there's more dancing, lots of laughter, cake and toasts and much celebration. Just before Adam and Maya leave for their honeymoon they toss the bouquet and garter.

"Why don't you let us take the triplets for the night," Wendy offers as we're gathering our things to go back to the room.

"Are you sure you can handle them? They're trying to crawl now," I remind her.

"We'll have Tris and Ricky to help, none of us get enough time with the triplets and you'll be flying home Monday," Wendy says.

We smile and they come up to the room with us to get all the stuff the triplets will need. When Owen's parents are gone with the triplets we join Drew and Bianca and a few of the other guests at the hotel bar. Shon is also going home with his grandparents so the adults have some time off.

"Hey do you think you guys can come to Toronto in late August?" Chris asks the four of us.

"Well we still live in Toronto so sure," Bianca responds with a sardonic tone.

"We can come? What time in August I'll have to make sure I don't book any clients," Owen comments.

"Uh the weekend of the 20th if that works we know the triplets first birthday is that weekend," Chris remarks pulling out his phone and looking at his calendar.

"Actually that works great we were going to have their first birthday and my parents anyway and invite everyone so we'll already be there," Owen replies.

"Great we'll be there, the 20th is the 15th anniversary of when we started dating," Marissa smiles looking at Chris.

"We're going to get as much of the old gang together as we can and we were thinking of camping on the beach like we used to," Chris says.

"Oh that sounds like so much fun we loved camping on the beach," I grin thinking fondly of that first summer Owen and I spent together.

 **(OWEN)**

"Rhiannon we need to get your party dress on," I call to her as she runs naked through my parent's house.

"Nyuh-uh," she shakes her head running from me.

It's Friday August 19th and the triplets are a year old today. We're having a great big party for them here, with Chris and Marissa's anniversary beach camp out tomorrow night a lot of people are in town and we had almost 50 people say they'd be here. Dylan and Fallynn are dressed and in the living room but Rhiannon is refusing to get dressed.

"Rhiannon Milligan if you don't get your clothes on you can't have cake," I tell her in a firm voice as I scoop her up.

"Momma," Rhiannon demands, she is our most stubborn child and mama's girl.

"Mommy is with your brother and sister Daddy's going to get you dressed," I tell her.

"MOMMA!" She screams crossing her arms.

"I'll get her you can go keep Dylan from trying to jump on the sofa," Clare says coming over and taking Rhiannon from me.

I kiss Clare and Rhiannon and go out to the living room, Dylan is jumping on the sofa singing some made up song that only has a few real words and the rest are words he's making up. They really just momma, dada and one or two other words right now depending on the triplet but they talk to each other in babble all the time and I swear they understand what they're saying.

Mom hired caterers so she and Janice could enjoy the party. Tris and Ricky are here already they've been staying in Tristan's old room. When I come out to the living room the entire Torres clan is here and I take Rhiannon to go greet them. Of course she sees Shon and wiggles to get out of my arms so she can play with Shon. They don't get to see Shon too much but they have a photo album at home with everyone's pictures so they remember Shon. Just after I greet the Torres clan Chris and Marissa come and it isn't long before the house is filled. Johnny is here with his wife of three years, Clare and I are really happy to see Johnny because we haven't seen him since he moved to Alberta a few years ago. There will be lots of people coming this weekend to the triplet's party and to Chris and Marissa's beach camp out party. The person Clare is most excited to see is Darcy who's been on various projects the last two years and hasn't made it back to North America so we haven't seen her. Darcy RSVP'd with a plus one so she's bringing someone.

"My sister just sent a text they'll be here in five minutes. I'm going to go outside to greet her I haven't seen her in so long," Clare says after we greet Spin and Emma.

"I'll come with you," I comment putting my arm around her and walking outside with her. The driveway is full but we see Darcy walking up, not with a guy but with a girl, a girl we know.

"Holly J!" Clare exclaims.

"Hey Sis, hi Owen," Darcy smiles hugging us both.

"I didn't know you two were such good friends," I comment seeing Holly J with Darcy.

"Actually we're married," Darcy tells us.

"You're what? I mean that's great but umm…" Clare stumbles over her words not that I can blame her it's pretty shocking news.

"We'll explain but right now we want to go inside and see everyone else and especially meet the triplets," Darcy says.

We take them inside and introduce them to Dylan, Rhiannon and Fallynn. They gush over the girls and then several of us go outside to hear how Darcy and Holly J even ran into each other let alone got together and got married.

"I was in Portugal on a two day layover on my way to Malabo and Holly J was in Portugal finishing up a consulting job for her firm. We spent the whole two days together and completely connected. I left for Malabo and a month later Holly J surprised me there, we've been together ever since, we got married last month when we were in London on our way here," Darcy explains.

"I still can't believe it but I'm glad you're both happy," Clare smiles.

"Very much and I took a position with Me to We so we're moving back to Toronto which means we'll at least be closer to you guys and we'll get to see nieces and nephew more often," Darcy grins.

"I can't wait to tell Paige and Jay you two are married," Spinner smiles.

"Yeah where are Paige and Jay I thought they'd be here?" Holly J asks.

"Paige took a job in Paris and they moved there, it keeps her pretty busy they don't make it back to the states much but we video chat a lot. They're going to try and come to Toronto for Christmas this year so hopefully we'll see them then," I explain.

We talk a little more but the triplets are hungry and Dad and Omar have the BBQ going and it's almost time to eat. We give the kids some snacks until dinner is ready. It's great to see everyone and spend the time with family and friends, the triplets have a wonderful time and are excited to see everyone but the party tires them out and they all fall asleep by ten. We get them into bed upstairs and everyone leaves, a good number of the people here will be camping out on the beach tomorrow night. Dylan, Rhiannon and Fallynn will be spending the night here with my parents and Shon will be staying with his grandparents while the adults are camping on the beach. Clare and I are exhausted and go to bed soon after the guests leave.

We wake up when the kids wake up and want breakfast; we take them downstairs where Janice is making pancakes. After breakfast Clare and I spend the morning with the triplets before we return to the house to pack for the beach. Then we say goodbye to everyone and we get in my rental with Tris and Ricky to go to the beach.

"This will be so much fun we haven't done this in so long," Clare smiles

"Yeah the last time we camped on the beach was after you graduated from DeGrassi but we haven't been with all the old gang since the year before," I remark.

I park at the beach and we grab all the stuff walking down to the beach and pick out a spot for the tents. After we get the tent set up we go to greet everyone, most of the people were at the triplet's birthday last night but a few of them weren't. We see Cody and Shelley and greet them, they aren't together anymore, both are married to different people but they are still friends. While Clare is talking with Shelley I help Chris with the BBQ. We play football in the sand, watch the sunset, talk and drink around the camp fire. By two in the morning the fire is out and everyone is in their tent. Clare and I get undressed and cuddle into the couple's sleeping bag.

"Do you remember the first time we did this?" Clare asks.

"I remember you drinking too much tequila rose and taking Reese to go look at crabs," I comment tickling her sides.

"Yeah and we had a horse race," Clare reminds me.

"Yeah and you were quite drunk Hot Legs."

"That was the best summer of our lives, it brought us together. Even if I had to repeat the words I was at this party a million times because people couldn't understand how we'd begun hanging out."

"Yeah we did have to tell that story a lot but we fell in love and I love you more and more every day. I love you Hot Legs."

"I love you Hubby Boyfriend," she grins and snatches my lips for a passionately loving kiss.


End file.
